Former champion Tyron Woodley will face surging contender Gilbert Burns atop the UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Burns card at the Apex facility in Las Vegas. UFC president Dana White told the media this week that the May 30 UFC fight card will be held at the UFC’s home facility after the promotion returned from an eight-week hiatus with three shows in Jacksonville. Woodley is now the top-ranked contender and will fight for the first time since losing his belt to Kamaru Usman in March of last year.

Burns, ranked No. 6, has soared up the rankings behind a five-fight winning streak. Woodley is a -175 favorite (risk $175 to win $100), while Burns is a +155 underdog in the latest William Hill odds for the May 30 UFC card. Before you make any UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Burns picks, make sure you see what SportsLine MMA expert Kyle Marley has to say.

Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and also appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and DFS shows. Over the past 15 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up nearly $20,000.

At UFC Fight Night on May 16 in Jacksonville, Marley accurately predicted that underdog Alistair Overeem (+145) would finish Walt Harris (-165) in a battle of heavyweight contenders. The MMA analyst reasoned the veteran Overeem’s more varied skill set would be the difference. He was proven correct after Overeem survived an early flurry and got the fight to the mat, where he finished Harris with ground-and-pound in the second round. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up.

Now, with UFC Fight Night on May 30 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the card, identified the best value in the UFC odds and released his MMA picks for every fight. Those selections are only available at SportsLine.

Woodley vs. Burns preview

The MMA handicapper knows the May 30 main event will likely be a major turning point in the careers of both fighters. Woodley has seen one of the most successful runs in UFC welterweight history marred by inactivity due to various injuries and criticism from what some observers view as a conservative fighting style.

Woodley (19-4-1) memorably knocked out Robbie Lawler in the first round of their July 2016 bout to win the title and made four successful title defenses. But he was listless in his lopsided decision loss to Usman, who used his wrestling and cage control to dominate their fight. The former champion turned 38 in April and a loss to Burns could mean a long road back to title contention.

Burns (18-3) heads to the Apex facility as one of the promotion’s hottest fighters. The 33-year-old Brazilian has flirted on the outskirts of the rankings since making his UFC debut in 2014. But he has been on a roll since a July 2018 loss to Dan Hooker, with a series of impressive outings among his five consecutive victories.

Top UFC Fight Night predictions for May 30

We’ll reveal one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night predictions for the May 30 card here: He is backing Mackenzie Dern (-380) to get a stoppage win against Hannah Cifers (+310) in a matchup of strawweight prospects.

Dern (7-1) is a grappling specialist and former top-ranked contender in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. She made her UFC debut in March 2018 with a decision win against Ashley Yoder. The 27-year-old Arizona native suffered her first MMA loss by decision to Amanda Ribas in their October 2019 bout.

Cifers (10-4) is a striking specialist who has a 2-2 mark in four UFC appearances. The 27-year-old North Carolina native saw a two-fight win streak halted with a stoppage loss to rising contender Angela Hill in January.

“Cifers can hang on the feet and could maybe even land a hard shot for the TKO,” Marley told SportsLine. “Once this fight hits the ground, it could be over shortly afterward.”

How to make UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Woodley picks

Marley also has strong picks for Burns vs. Woodley and every other bout on the May 30 Fight Night card. He’s also backing one fighter because of their “standout ground game.” You can see those selections at SportsLine.